Noticing
by Switch
Summary: Ron starts to notice little things. Tiny, tiny littles things that he isn't sure he should notice. Slash Warning. I POSTED THE THIRD CHAPTER!
1. Noticing

Noticing

It had started at the beginning of their sixth year. Harry had sat Ron, Hermoine and Neville down in the Gryffindor common room and told them everything, about the prophecy. He explained it as best as he could, but when he was finished, they were all thoroughly confused. Harry tried apologising to Neville, who simply stood up and walked away without saying a single word.

That was when Ron started noticing Neville. He had no idea why he did this. It just happened. He paid more attention to Neville, watched him more, talked to him more.

"So, Neville, fancy seeing you here."

"It's the greenhouses, Ron. I'm _always _here."

"...I knew that."

And he started noticing things, things that he normally would not notice about someone like Neville. It was small, tiny things like the way Neville's summer job at the Ministry's nurseries had trimmed and toned his body or how the sun had tanned his skin and speckled his skin with adorable little brown freckles and his hair had been bleached a honey golden blonde. Or how his eyes twinkled when he was around the plants that loved him so much. Ron noticed all of that and stored that inside his head, keeping it secret because he didn't want other people to see these things in Neville. They were like a private joke between them that no one, not even Neville, knew about. And Ron didn't know or understand why he felt this way.

After Quidditch practice, Ron would often hurry to the greenhouse and just watch Neville with his plants. It was calming. But then he felt like talking to Neville because just watching him didn't calm him down anymore. It was like a drug he had built up a tolerance for so he needed more. Much more. How much, he didn't know. His own feelings were beginning to terrify him.

Neville wasn't in the greenhouses though. Where was he?

"Ron, what are you doing here?"

Jumping and spinning around, Ron's eyes connected with Neville's. He felt like every muscle in his body relaxed a little. Then he wondered why Neville was standing there holding a plate of food.

"Oh, um, I was looking for you," he said softly, a little embarrassed. He mentally noted little thoughts, like how much taller he was than Neville, over a foot, and how the hand holding the plate looked freshly washed, but there was still dirt under the fingernails. "I just felt like talkinig to you," he added.

Neville frowned a little in a confused way, "Oh. Well, that's very nice of you. I just went down to the dining hall to get some food. You can share it with me if you'd like."

"I'd like that," said Ron.

They went over next to a box of plants with bright orange blossoms and sat on the floor next to them.

"I thought we weren't supposed to take food out of the dining hall," Ron commented.

Neville nodded, "I have special permission from Professor Sprout. The Collistas are hatching in the backroom and I have to be here unless something goes wrong." He cast a charm on the plate of food to refill automatically after it had been emptied. He had started the year with more confidence and it showed in his magic. His grades were almost as good as Hermoine's.

"What are Collistas?" he asked, picking up a piece of grilled chicken.

"Man-Eaters. The eggs are a bit bigger than your head. They're usually docile after hatching, but sometimes they try to eat eachother and it's my job to stop them if they do." Neville picked up small green peas one at a time and popped them into his mouth.

Ron laughed a little, "You spend way too much time in the greenhouses, Neville." He scooped up some mashed potatoes with two fingers and stuck them ini his mouth.

Shrugging, Neville replied, "Seamus spends more time in detention than I do in ther greenhouses."

"They may be true. I think Seamus spends more time in detention than I am awake. Do you know who he's been pursuing this week?"

Neville shook his head, "It's a secret."

"That just means he isn't making any progress."

They both snickered and continued eating.

"How is your family, Ron?" Neville asked after several minutes of quiet chewing.

"Good," Ron replied, quickly swallowing the food in his mouth, "They're all good. Charlie is still working with dragons in Romania and Bill is still in Egypt, but he's trying to talk his bosses into transferring him back to England so he can be closer to all of us. I hope he doesn't. He's a lot happier in Egypt than he ever was at home. Oh, Fred and George are moving along very well with their shop. They say that if sales continue the way they have been they'll be able to open a second shop in a couple years. I got to help them come up withh new stuff over the summer."

"Ron," Neville interupted, "How is Percy?"

The redhead quickly grew quiet, "Percy?" he asked, "Well, um, Percy is, uh..."

"Is he well?"

"He is in good health, I suppose."

Neville nodded and smiled a little, "Do you think he's happy?"

Ron just snorted, "Percy hasn't been happy since the day he was born."

"I remember," Neville sighed, "On the last day of school, right before he graduated, I said to him, 'so what are you doing now, Percy?' and he replied, 'I don't know, but I hope it makes me happy' and I told him that I hoped that whatever he did would make him happy. That was all Percy ever wanted, after all."

"Why were you talking to Percy?" Ron asked, confused.

"He was my friend," said Neville, tossing the bare chicken bones at a plant that promptly devoured them, "He was always helping and looking out for me. Whenever I lost Trevor he would help me find him and whenever I couldn't sleep he would stay with me and we'd just sit on the sofa next to the fire in the common room and just talk for hours. He was always so kind and he always listened no matter how stupid what I was saying was of how juvenile my thoughts or emotions were. He was the only real friend I've ever had. I thought he was the most wonderful person I'd ever met." Neville had a mirthful smile on his lips. That was the first time tha Ron ever thought someone was beautiful.

"You must be the only person to ever see Percy like that," Ron teased lightly.

"I went to sleep almost every night," murmured Neville, "wondering why I couldn't have had a brother like him..."

This made Ron frown, "You must be completely off your rocker."

"You take the people who love you for granted, Ron," Neville said, shaking his head.

"What?"

"Percy cared about you," sighed Neville, his voice sounding slightly angry and aggravated, "He was always talking about you and how much he cared aout you and how worried he was that you would make stupid mistakes and never live up to your potential. 'He'll be great someday,' he used to say, 'He just has to try a little.' He made me believe in you. You could be so great if you just tried a little, Ron. Percy was the only one who ever knew that."

Ron felt as if he was completely gobsmacked.

"You'll do great things someday, Ron," Neville said evenly, "I know you will. There's a reason you're Harry's best friend. You have the strength to stay by his side till the end. you just have to find that strength inside of yourself first."

"Neville," Ron said with a smile lighting up his face, "I think that you are the most wonderful person that I have ever met."

Smiling a small, reserved smile, Neville pulled off a piece of tiramisu and crumbled it into the box of orange blossoms that all squealed and fought over the chocolatey crumbs.

And Ron suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to kiss Neville. That terrified him.

He stood up and muttered, "I have to go," before leaving the greenhouse in a hurry, not even looking back.

To be continued?


	2. Watching

Ron studied. Ron studied a lot because when he was studying he wasn't thinking about Neville and he could ignore that constant force pushing and pulling him to the greenhouses. Studying filled up his time nicely.

But then his friends got suspicious and all of the studying he was doing somehow only made his grades worse.

So then he started practicing quidditch. He breathed, ate, and lived quidditch. He was out on the field whenever he got the chance and doing all kinds of other training when the fields were unavailable.

The increased amount of exercise somehow triggered a growth spurt while his gangly, willowy body filled out and hardened. People began to notice him and his changing features... but not Neville.

"Have you guys been noticing Ron recently?" Parvati commented as they ate, knowing that Ron was missing dinner. He wouldn't have time to do his homework later in the evening due to detention with Filch so he was getting it done early.

Padma nodded in agreement, "He's gotten so tall."

"Ron has been tall this entire year, Padma. He had a major growth spurt over the summer," said Hermoine.

"He's gotten taller, 'Moine," Harry said, "He's well over six feet now, close to seven."

Seamus piped in, "He's gotten really muscly, too. I touched his arm yesterday and it was as hard as a rock."

"Why were you touching his arm?" Dean asked teasingly. This caused a playful arguement between Seamus and the rest of the table. The whole time, Neville was silent, knowing that the reason Ron was changing in appearance so much was because of his increase in physical activites. And he also realized that those increases started when Ron stopped started avoiding him. And that hurt.

Neville stood up and left the table. He didn't feel like listening to people talking about Ron.

They had been getting so close. Neville thought that he would actually have a real friend for once in his life, not someone who just put up with his company, but someone who actually wanted to be around him. But then... Everyone left him. They always left him. Ron was just following a trend.

"Ron, what have you been doing to yourself?" Hermoine asked worriedly as she, Ron, and Harry sat in the common room studying.

Shrugging, Ron replied, "I've just been working out more, 'Moine."

She frowned, "You're changing really fast. It can't be good for your body. You didn't take a potion or anything, did you?

"No, I didn't take a potion."

"What about muggle steroids?"

Ron tensed up and glared at her, "No, I'm not on steroids. I'm your friend, Hermoine, and I thought you were mine, but if that were the case, you would trust me more." His voice was cold and violently angry underneath a layer of false calm.

Hermoine seemed slightly scared, "I'm sorry, Ron. I'm just worried about you. You know that."

"She's right, Ron," Harry butted in, "We're only looking out for you."

Ron sighed heavily, "I can take care of myself, you guys. I don't need you to watch out for me constantly like an infant or something."

"Ok, Ron," Hermoine sighed, "Don't work too hard. And don't neglect your studies."

He nodded and they continued working on their essays in a parody of silence. No one spoke other than the others in the common room. It was only eyes moving over text, fingers gripping quills, quills dancing across parchment. Younger students talked animatedly about nothing or played silly games. Yet none of the three spoke. Until Harry decided to change that.

"So, Ron, what happened between you and Neville?"

Ron stopped and froze, "What do you mean?"

"You two were getting along pretty well," was all the more Harry gave.

"Now it's like you refuse to be in the same in the room as him," Hermoine added.

"Nothing happened," Ron said shortly.

They continued working. Minutes ticked by on the clock. Quills scratched over parchment and filled the blank spaces with their empty scripted words. Students ran in and out of the common room and their dorms with no mind for anything other than their play, other than their own enjoyment.

"Are you sure nothing happened?"

"What makes you think something happened, Hermoine?" Ron's voice was tense and agitated.

Harry replied, "He always looks sad whenever we talk about you."

Ron froze and stared down at his almost full parchment.

"I only need another inch or so," Ron commented then quickly finished his work. As soon as the essay was completed, he gathered his things, stood up and left.

"Great game today, Ron," Tim, one of the new Gryffindor beaters said as they left the locker room. Tim then ran off to get to the victory party, leaving him alone.

They had played against Ravenclaw and won with a score of 210 to 30. Nothing had been getting through the goals with Ron guarding them. Yet he wasn't really all that excited about the victory party. He was... unenthralled with most things that used to excite him recently.

He shook it off and began to walk down the corridor to the Gryffindor dormitory, but as he turned a corner he slammed into someone. They both fell to the floor.

"Ow," Ron mumbled.

"Oh my gosh, sorry, Ron!"

Ron looked up to see Neville sitting in front of him.

"It's ok, Nev. My fault anyway. I wasn't watching where I was going." He stood up and helped Neville stand as well.

"This is a change," Neville muttered, brushing off his robes.

Ron frowned at the comment, "What's a change?"

Snorting, Neville dryly replied, "You talking to me."

"I talk to you!" Ron defended himself, gaping that at Neville's (true) accusations.

Neville just rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. You've been avoiding me since the day we talked about Percy in the greenhouses."

"I've been busy and-"

"And avoiding me," Neville cut off, "Is it because you don't like thinking that someone out there believes that Percy is a worthwhile human being? Or is it something else entirely different, Ron? Did you suddenly realize that you were too good for me?"

Ron was completely blown away. He had never seen Neville speak that way to anyone before. It was a completely new and different side of Neville.... and he liked it a lot.

"Mr. big important Gryffindor Keeper is too cool, too popular to talk to boring, quiet Neville. Is that it, Ron? Am I not cool enough for you? Am I not-"

Ron crushed his mouth against Neville's, ignoring everything else.


	3. Seeing

Title: Noticing Chapter 3  
Author: Switch  
Rating: PG/PG-13  
Warnings: None, really. Just slash  
Feedback: Yes, please. Please. Please.  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not at all. :cries:

Noticing

Chapter 3:

Seeing

By Switch

Ron crushed his lips against Neville's, ignoring everything else. This was Neville. Neville, who stumbled backward just a little bit, Neville, who liked plants, who was kind to everyone, who saw good in everyone (even Percy), who had a hidden fire deep inside of him that Ron wanted to touch, Neville, who was slowly kissing him back.

It had been a major shock, Ron's kiss, but it was a nice kind of shock. His lips were soft and warm while his hands were strong and confident, one on his lower back pulling him closer and that other on the back of his neck, keeping him from pulling away.

Neville had no idea what to do, but he knew that his knees were about to give out, so he wrapped his arms around Ron's neck. He gasped against Ron's lips, allowing a smooth tongue to slide into his mouth. Neville moaned.

Ron pressed up against him as close as he could. He just couldn't get enough. He wanted so much more, but wouldn't allow himself to try to obtain it. Oh, but the way Neville was pressed against him... That was just perfect. More perfect and more right then anything had ever felt before.

The feeling of Ron's tongue in Neville's mouth was doing crazy things to the gardener. It was dominating, but calm. Rough, but gentle. Hot, but... well, it was just really hot.

Neville finally broke away, gasping for breath.

"Ron," he breathed, "What was that?"

"Really fucking nice," Ron replied and went to kiss Neville again, but was stopped.

Neville licked his lips and spoke softly, "What are we doing, Ron?"

"I thought I was kissing you. I don't know what you're doing."

"Stop joking around, Ron!" Neville exclaimed, "Why did you kiss me?"

Ron was quiet. He glanced down at his feet and picked at some dirt under one of his fingernails, "I, uh... I like you. I like you a lot," his voice was small. "That's why I was avoiding you. I didn't... I was scared."

Neville gazed up at him with full of emotions. Ron didn't know what emotions they were, but he knew he liked them.

"Ron, why didn't you just tell me?" he asked.

Breathing in deeply, Ron replied, "I didn't understand it... I've never liked another boy before so... It freaked me out. And I didn't know if you liked me too or if you thought I was just a big loser or if maybe you liked Percy or someone else. So I just... I hid from you, I guess. I threw myself into something else so I wouldn't have to deal with what I felt."

"One sentence would've been fine, Ron," Neville said before crushing his lips against Ron's. The redhead grunted and enveloped the smaller boy in his arms.

"Bloody _hell_!" The two boys broke away to see Seamus staring at them.

"… Hey, Seamus," Ron said softly, slightly pulling away from Neville without breaking contact fully.

"What… What were you guys doing?" Seamus stuttered, his face bright red.

"Kissing," Neville replied blandly. Ron grinned at him. His grin widened when he saw Seamus' expression.

"Ki…Kissing?"

Ron smirked, "Would you like us to demonstrate?" Neville giggled and hugged him.

Seamus' eyes bugged out of his head and he turned and ran. Neville smiled up at Ron.

"You know the entire school is going to know about us in about an hour, right?"

"Mmmm, I'm ok with that of you are," Ron said softly and leaned in to kiss Neville once again.

Sorry this chapter is so short and late, but this is just where I wanted to stop for now. New chapter will be around eventually. I promise…


End file.
